Software and Tools - Backups

One of the most important things you can do after you secure your device is to make regular backups and just as important is to test your backups.

Why backup?

• Hard drives fail.  It doesn't matter how new the drive is or even if it is a SSD they will fail sooner or later;
• You lose your device or it is stolen;
• You drop your device and now it does not work;
• When you patch or update your operating system it fails.  It doesn't matter the O/S you are using, I have had failed Linux updates and it required me to rebuild the machine;
• You migrate to a new device and want all the files on the old machine moved to the new machine;
• You finger slips and you accidentally delete an important file/directory; 
• There is a disaster (ie. fire or flood);
• Your device(s) infected with a virus or a trojan.  Again, it doesn't matter the O/S you are using, there are nasty programs out there that works in Windows, Linux and OS/X.

If one or more of the above happens you will need a backup so that your important documents are available to you when you rebuild the device or copy to a new device.  I have had people come to me with dead and dying devices asking if I can pull off their data and they have not made any backups.  Too often I cannot recover all of their files and important documents, images, videos are lost and they don't have any backups.

Things to think about

How often do you backup? 

• That all depends on your personal preferences and how many documents you are adding to your device;
• If you don't create very many then it may be safe to backup infrequently (monthly); 
• If you create a lot of files (like scanning family photos), then frequent backups (daily) may be a good thing;
• Once you set a schedule stick to it.  I put up a recurring reminder in Google calendar to remind me of when backups should be run.  Also you can set up a recurring task in Windows and Linux (cron) to run your backup scripts on a set schedule.

How many copies do you want to keep?  

• Again this is a personal preference, but, multiple full backups is a good thing just in case one fails for some reason; 
• An option here is a monthly full backup and then weekly backups of new/changed (differential backups) files;
• Another reason as backups may fail and if you have only one copy then you have nothing to go back to.  I know this happens as decades ago when at work we were doing a DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) exercise at work and one of the corporate backup tapes failed.  It wasn't a major problem as we did keep multiple backups and restored from an older image;

Off-site location for your backups?  

• It doesn't matter if you have a good set of backups if you cannot get access to your site;
• How secure is the off-site.  If you have sensitive information you don't want anyone getting access to the backup;
• You should also figure out who should have access to your backups and let them know where it is and how they can get access to the backups if required;

Media for backups.  

• Decades ago floppies were the media, then CDs followed by USB drives;
• When you backup make sure that the tools, hardware and software is there to allow you to read the backups.  An example of this is some time ago I had to pull off backups from my father-in-law 3.5" floppy drives as he didn't have a floppy drive in his machine.  We were lucky in that I have an external 3.5" USB floppy drive for this and it was set up in Linux.  I also have an external CD drive and a blu-ray drive (call me paranoid) so I can pull files from backups in that format;
• To the cloud.  Don't depend on that as your main backup as it may not be there when you need it.  I like Google drive for a secondary backup myself and the bonus is that the files I put there are available anywhere I have a web browser (and the firewall allows access).  With the various sites getting hacked I also don't keep files there that are sensitive and when I do put up a file of that nature I use encryption on the file/directory.  I also have a small script using GRIVE in Linux to pull a backup from GOOGLE drive to my machine.

Software and file format for backups.  

• Over time operating systems do change and the software that did the original backup may not run on your new device and the new devices may not even be able to read your backups;
• I tend to work with the lowest common denominator for backups that does work across platforms.  I prefer to use "ZIP" files as I know Windows and Linux both can work with that file format.  I assume OS/X will be able to read them too, but, I don't use that operating system so I am not 100% sure;
• On my Linux machine I am partial to KBACKUP.  It is fairly easy to set up and use and it stores the files in a format that I can open in an Linux distro and Windows;
• On my Windows box I use a simple XCOPY routine.  It isn't pretty, but, it works and the files are in a format that my Linux machines can read;
• For my Android devices they get backed up to Google drive;
• Several times a year I take one of my backups and plug it into a different machine to see if it is readable and I can pull one or more files off the backup.  Make sure what is backed up can be restored!  It is also a quick and easy test to see if your restore steps work and if there is anything else you should be doing when restoring from a backup;

When you restore.

• If the restore is due to a virus or a trojan I strongly recommend that you don't ever use your backups until you have a clean and patched machine.  If the machine is still infected and the media you are using can be written to you don't want those backup files corrupted;
• Make a checklist of what you need to do the restore and the steps performed when doing a restore.  This includes steps on how to verify that the restore worked;

My KBACKUP routine

Here are screen shots of my starting KBACKUP, running the backup and when it finishes.

Shortcut in my toolbox

Loading my backup profile

Directory & file list for backup

Backup running

Backup done with filename

Software and Tools - Office suite

This is the fifth blog on software.  This time I am focusing on 'office' suite software that I am using on my Linux machine.  The Office suite you use is a personal preference, or, it is imposed on you by the company you work for.  My personal preference is the Libre Office suite.  It is free, works very well in Linux for what I need it for and so far it handles all of my files from the office when I have to make changes and I don't have access to my work laptop.  My company supplied laptop has the Microsoft Office Suite as that is the corporate standard.

Android devices

The Android phone uses only the Google docs tools installed by default due to it being a low end phone, but, that is fine for me and what I need it for.  The Android tablet also uses the Google docs tools as I don't need or use a lot of high end functions.  The times I use the Google docs tools is when I need to make a quick edit to a document or spreadsheet I have on Google Drive.

Linux

This is where I do most of my serious work when doing documents.  I am not going to go into how each package works, just a quick intro to the two main tools I use and what it looks like.  So far I have not had any problems using documents from work in the suite.  It does look a bit different when rendering the documents, but, the basics are there and I can quickly do what I have to do and get it back to work.

Libre Office came pre-installed for me so that was a bonus.  If it isn't, you can use your package manager to install the software.  The main functions are Writer, Calc, Base, Draw, Impress and Math.  I normally use Writer and Calc and I have only used Impress once. 

Office suite menu

If you launch Libre Office the package will present you a number of options and the last set of files you were working on.  From there you can pick the file you were working on, open a file or create a new file.  Clean and simple screen that allows you to quickly do what you want to do.

Libre Office, what do you want to do

An alternative is when you are working in a document is to click on the file button at the top and then select new.  It will show you a list of items you can create.  The program presents you a short and simple list of things you can do.

What type of document to create

The look and feel of the suite is very similar and is similar to the Office suite in a way.  If you are not sure what to do you can hover the mouse over the icons at the top and a quick description is shown.  I have not modified what this looks like as right now the default works very well for me.

Writer blank document screen

Other office tools

At this time I don't use much else.  The only other two tools is a character select KCharSelect that came as part of KDE and a PDF viewer Okular.  I use Okular when I export out a spreadsheet from Calc for viewing on the phone.  I do this so that I can quickly see my DVD library on the phone to see if I have already bought that video and not having to open up the spreadsheet and accidentally make a change.

KCharSelect

Okular

Software and Tools - Email

This is the fourth blog on various tools that I use.  Email is a personal preference for what works for you.  Most people I suspect are using Outlook as that is preferred corporate email client and it comes as part of Windows.  My personal preference is actually multiple clients.  My main one is Thunderbird.  It works well in Windows and Linux.  For my Android devices I have two.  GMAIL for Google email (backup client for my Android tablet) and mailbox provided by my ISP.  The last client I use is INBOX from Google.  INBOX is only for my main GMAIL account.  I like this client it as it stays out of my way and allows me to quickly organize and process my mail.

Thunderbird, like Outlook, allows you to create mail rules to categorize (or delete) your email based on rules.  Where I work they use Outlook and I have dozens of rules based on the sender.  The screen prints further in this blog shows the screen, but, at this time my Linux client doesn't have rules as the Windows machine is my main work machine for email (mail from the boss is highest priority and flagged to action immediately, projects go into their own folder).  It doesn't matter what client you use, rules allows you to order your work and focus on what is important.  

In Thunderbird I added an extension to link to my Google Calendar.  I find that handy as I can quickly add/change/delete events when something hits my inbox.  Outlook has that built in and it is a handy option no matter what client you use.

The one thing I never do is open attachments in emails when I don't know the sender.  Even when I know the sender I don't open it up (even in Linux) until I ask if they have sent that file.  My personal preference is to create a folder in my Google Drive, give them access and ask them to upload the file there.  I also have auto-load images in Thunderbird turned off.  Most of the times I don't need to see 'pretty' images and focus just on the text of the message.

The one last client I use is the Google web-mail client.  I like this tool as I can be anywhere and as long as I have access to the internet and a browser I can pick up my mail.

For me I have multiple personal email accounts.

• My main Google account (linked to this blog);
• A throwaway account I use for when I am not sure the site will not spam my main Google account.  When it gets too bad I just dump it and create a new throwaway account;
• A Yahoo account.  This is from many years ago when I didn't have Google mail.  I keep it as it is handy like my throwaway Google account;
• A Google account for my online gaming.  Some of the sites asks you to register your email account and excluding one game (Runescape) they all use this account;
• My ISP provides email accounts and I have one set up.  This is for notifications from the ISP and my family usually sends email to this one;

 A few suggestions for your email:

• If you are using the email from your ISP see if they have spam filters.  If they do, turn them on and use them.  It may not be perfect, but, I find that the one I use is over 99% accurate.  The few times it isn't I flag the email as legitimate and the next time it shows up in my inbox without a problem;
• If you have an anti-virus and it can integrate with your email client turn it on!  It is another level of defense and I don't see the impact to my client in Windows; 
• Make use of mail filters.  I use them to categorize my mail and it allows me to focus on what I deem to be important;
• Guard your email account.  Have a main one for friends and family and only a few others.  For everything else create a throwaway.  If the mail is important you can either forward it to your main email, or, have it as an additional account in your mail client (like Thunderbird does);

Other tools:

• For those who want to digitally sign your email or encrypt Thunderbird has a support page for this.  At this time I haven't added one; 

Screen Shots of my mail clients

Google Inbox for Android:

My main folder, I like it clean

Google Email for Android:

Main, again clean inbox

Thunderbird:

Mail

Calendar

Extensions

Mail filers

Rules for mail filters

Software and Tools - Antivirus

The next thing on the list of things to do is a good antivirus package after you install your favourite browser and before you start serious web surfing.  Again, this is a personal preference and it all depends on what you want, need and are willing to pay for.  There are those who say it is all snake oil and useless.  They are welcome to their opinion and in my not so humble opinion it is needed.  It is another level of defense for you that will stop the known nasty software out there.  Why make it easy for hackers to take over your system and use your bandwidth to take down sites, steal your identity?  Will it be 100% effective, maybe not, but if they want to get into my system they will need to work on it and not have an open door.

There are a number of sites that do reviews and I have a list five sites I know.  There are a lot more, but, I don't know them, their methodology and if they got paid to do the reviews. 

• AV Test org
• Consumer Affairs
• PC Advisor
• PC MAG 
• PC World

For myself I was looking for an package that works in

• Windows (I still have a machine left running Windows 10)
• Android for our tablets via the Google Play store.
• Android phone.  This is a low end model with limited resources.
• Linux.

I found one common package that works very well in Windows and Android, but, right now my distro does not offer the Linux version of that product.  It does not slow down my machines, especially the low end phone and did catch crap that tried to get installed when someone sent me an email.  Avast works well enough, has a free version that does most of what I want and need.  The version does show ads, but, they are small and unobtrusive for me and don't slow my systems down.  For Linux I am looking at ClamAV as that is available in the distro of Linux I am using.  UBUNTU community has a good small page of various packages you can check out.

The Android screens looks like the following:

The Windows screens looks like the following:

Please remember, just because you are running an antivirus program you can surf wherever you want, click on anything, install anything and open questionable emails.  Nothing is 100% and safe surfing and email practices are required.  Antivirus software just gives you another level of defense.  You also should be keeping your software up to date and making regular backups (a future blog).

Software and Tools - Browsers

This is the second in a group of blogs on software, tools and repositories.  One of the main tools I use and I suspect the majority of people is a web browser.  There are a number of great browsers out there and the one you use and like depends on your personal preferences (and biases).  For me since I run a Windows laptop (gaming), Android (tablets and phones) and Linux (laptops and netbook) I prefer Firefox and Chrome.  They run equally well on a cell phone right up to the laptop I am composing this blog on.  The Windows laptop (Windows 10) has Edge on, but I don't run it.  I may be biased, but, I don't trust the security on it and how much it is reporting back to MS about my searches and browsing habits.  I know Chrome and Firefox does do some reporting, but, so far they haven't abused my trust there.

This won't be all inclusive, but, a quick tour of my basic setup and hopefully will give you an idea of what they look like and a couple of things I added to assist me and secure my browsing.

If you use Windows click on Firefox if you want to go to the Mozilla site,  click on Chrome if you want to go to the Chrome site.  If you are using Android it is in the Play store and for just about every distribution of Linux it is part of the repositories that you can install (for me that is Synaptic).

For the rest of this blog the screen shots are from my Linux machine, but, Android and Windows have a similar layout and look-and-feel.  For all of the screenshots I used KSnapshot.  Gwenview is used for quick-and-dirty edits (like rotate, resize and rename).  Google Drive is used to store all of my blog images and the GRIVE tool syncs that up for me (with my writing a BASH script front-end, my previous BLOG on that).

Firefox

Once you install Firefox and launch it you will get a screen something like below.

It is a rather plain and simple screen.  This is my personal preference as I don't like or want a lot of clutter.  I have turned off the menu bar, bookmark toolbar and the status bar.

I did add a few extensions (from the Mozilla site) for the status bar and for shutting down those annoying ads.

My Plugins are default to my Linux distro.  When there are bug fixes I use Synaptic to update when they are available.  I still have Flash installed, as much as I hate it for the security holes I still need it for accessing corporate materials when I log into the company site.

To see preferences click on the icon at the top right (looks like a hamburger) and click on the preferences icon (looks like a cog).  You will see a number of options that you can click on and are presented with a variety of settings.  On content I turned off the option to play DRM protected content and to block pop-up windows.  I also changed the font to Arial as I find that easier on my eyes.

For privacy I turned it up to as high as I can go.  I know sites can still snoop, but, I want them to know if they want my information they should ask me first.

For security I also have that set to maximum.

For good measure I use  uBlock Origin to shut down as much of the annoying ads and tracking when I do surf.  I turn it off for sites that respect me and don't flood me with annoying ads.  To see what the dashboard looks like you will need to keep on reading as it is in the Chrome section.

To summarize my settings:

• Check to see if Firefox is my default browser;
• Show blank page at start;
• Search right now defaults to Google, I did disable Bing and Yahoo;
• Disable play DRM;
• Enable pop-up protection;
• Privacy tracking on for private windows;
• Never remember history;
• Security, Warn & block all turned on!
• Sync bookmarks, I have that turned on so it is easy to keep phone, tablet and laptops synced to the same set of bookmarks;
• Downloads, ask me where to save; 
• uBlock Origin, set up to hide as much crap as possible.  Good sites I open up;
• Advanced I left at their defaults. 

Chrome

My other browser is Chrome.  There are times that sites have problems with Firefox and I use that.  It is also set up to link to my personal Google calendar and to use Google Docs.  Part of the time I run it for Facebook to chat with family and post various updates and use Firefox for general web browsing and gaming (Runescape).   Like Firefox I have a minimal screen display, I really don't like clutter.

To go to your settings click the vertical ... on the top right side, then click on settings.

By default the advanced settings are not displayed, scroll down to the bottom and click on +Show advanced settings.  You can see your browsing history, Extensions and Settings.  For privacy you can click on content settings and it pops up a privacy setting screen.

For extensions it will show what you have installed.  At the bottom it has Get more extensions that takes you the Chrome Web Store.  I really suggest you use just that site as you know that Google has done some checks on the quality and security of the extensions.  I know nasty extensions can slip in, but, when found they get yanked PDQ.

Like in Firefox I use uBlock origin.  It is small, light and very configurable.  I used to use Ad-Block, but, when they went to white listing ad sites I dumped it.  I pick what ads are presented to me and I will retain full control of that.

To summarize my settings:

• Show blank page on startup;
• Google is the default search page;
• No 'Guest' browsing;
• Cookies, clears when I shut down Chrome and 3rd party is blocked;
• Let me choose when to run plug-in;
• Do not allow tracking;
• All other content settings at default;
• Downloads, ask me where to save;
• Cloud print is on, I use this only for stuff that isn't sensitive;
• uBlock Origin, set up to hide as much crap as possible.  Good sites I open up;

Summary

Hopefully this is of use and a good starting point for your using either Firefox or Chrome as your main browsers.

Software, tools and repositories

This will be a multi-part blog covering:

• What software I use in Android, Windows and Linux;
• Social Media
• Email
• Anti-virus
• Cleanup
• Backup
• Web
• Graphics
• Office
• Where I go for that software and where do I don't go;

It isn't all inclusive, but, it may give you an idea of where to go, what to do and what NOT to do.

I will start off with where I go for the software.  For Android, Windows and Linux I always go to official repositories or the play stores for the O/S (Android & Windows).  I avoid third party sites as I don't know where they get the software from and just how legit and safe it is.  I know there are good sites, but, I am paranoid on what I install.

Android

Pick your category or do a search

I NEVER use unknown sources.

Windows 10

For O/S I use Update

Check for updates and then install

Windows store, I have a lot of updates

For new stuff you can scroll through it, or search

Linux

Synaptic is how I update Linux

Nothing fancy, no special tools.  I use what is built in to each system.  The one thing I do for all is regular updates.  Windows 10 I don't have a lot of options for the O/S, that is forced on me.  For Android and Linux I pick what to update and when.  For all three I manually review the apps I have installed to see if I really want to install them.  For too many of them they just say 'Speed and stability improvements' and that really pisses me off as I have been a developer for over 34 years and EVERY release I did had a high level description on what was changed and why.  You don't need to get fancy, but, in a few hundred words you can put in enough info to say why we should upgrade.

For Android and Windows I keep my A-V running and up-to-date.  If any package tells me to turn it off as it interferes with the install or update I dump the package ASAP.  If you can't install with the A-V running that sets off red flags for me.  For Android I also review the permissions.  Too many packages asks for rights that they don't need.  I have had games that ask to see my contact list, phone and a few other things I don't think they have the right too and I end up not installing.

For all software I don't mind if it is ad-supported, I understand you need to make money, but, please don't show the full screen ads or show ads every few minutes forcing me to watch before I can continue.  Each app that does that gets nuked from orbit as there are other apps that I can use and don't spam me.  As an example, last week I removed an Android app.  It was opening a lot (over 12) Firefox tabs and going to a group of sites with a common high level URL.  I don't know if it was mal-adware, or, they got greedy and tried to max out advertising revenue, but, it got nuked from orbit and I will install a similar app (local weather FYI).  Before that happened they had a nice ad running along the bottom and was well behaved.  Upside is AVAST didn't find a virus so I think I dodged a bullet there.


For Windows not all apps are in the windows store.  For those I go direct to the software developers and download from there.  I don't go to many aggregators as I had a bad experience with one (CNET I am looking at you for that) and it messed up my Windows 7 systems so badly with spyware I had to rebuild TWO laptops from their original install CDs.  I am fairly proficient when it comes to operating systems, tools and such, but, it was telling me I didn't have the admin rights to remove it and when I did get tools to remove it there were so many hooks elsewhere that it re-installed itself.  If you go to a third party for software, be careful, be VERY careful as even an experienced user got burned badly.  This is why I tell everyone not to use third party software sites.

Microsoft - Did you really test the latest release?

I have one and only one Windows based machine and everything else is Linux.  When Microsoft offered the update to Windows 10 I did the upgrade.  I wasn't worried as I could revert back to 8.1 and my work machine is Linux so if things gets messed up I still have a computer.  When I did the upgrade from Win 8.1 to Win 10 I lost the ability to use the scanner.  The scanner was only a couple of years old, but, the manufacturer didn't have a driver and the manufacturer isn't making a driver for that model in Win 10.  That wasn't a problem as my Linux machine could use the scanner so I didn't have to go out and buy a new supported scanner.

The big thing that pisses me off right now is the anniversary update to Windows 10.  I don't know what they tested, how they tested or even if they tested.  The machine right now is so unstable at times it is almost unusable.  Part of the time it will 'hang' and then I get a black screen or blue screen and have to do a hard reboot.  Most days I want to use the machine I end up rebooting 2 to 3 times before it runs.  This isn't an old machine, this is a fairly new and HIGH end Dell laptop that I use for one of the online games.  I also use it for storing all of my digital images and videos (1 Tb drive).  I also use it for photo editing and video editing and before the update it was rock solid and fast.  Now when it does work it takes minutes to boot, slow for the first several minutes and takes over 2 minutes to shut down.

I patched everything for drivers to the most current and it still locks up on a regular basis.  What I want to know is how does Microsoft test their software as I am not the only person having this problem and there isn't one common fix for everyone.  This suggests to me that there is something in a Microsoft software component that is causing the problem and we don't have the ability to be able to see what it is and disable that piece (if possible).

Upside right now is I have a backup of all of my images, videos and documents so that is safe.  Microsoft says they are looking into it and may have a fix, but, this is why I am using Linux.  When there is a major issue I can quickly roll back to the prior kernel or package and continue on with my work.

Adding Google Drive to my Linux Box

GRIVE Installation and scripting

I have been digging around to see if there is a Google Drive service available for my Linux box.  I preferred to have something like what I have on the high end laptop (windows 10) in that it looks like a drive and I can manipulate the files in any way I want and updates GDRIVE immediately.  So far there is nothing like that in LINUX, but, there is a package called GRIVE.  I read up the documentation on the package and saw that it was something that I could use for now.  I installed the package, followed the instructions to link the app to my GMAIL account and then did a synchronize.  The first run took several minutes while it downloaded all of the files and folders, but, when I run again the synchronize took only a few seconds.  While this isn't perfect it does allow me to access my GDRIVE files, make updates and then sync the changes.

I always like to automate my tasks if I have to run it more than once.  For jobs scheduled on a regular basis I prefer CRONTAB, for things not on a regular schedule I prefer a folder with scripts or links to do the job.  For GRIVE I wrote two very simple BASH scripts to automate my synchronizing my GDRIVE files.  The first one displays to the user what will be done and give them the option to continue or quit.  The second calls the first from an XTERM window where I set up the font to a readable size.  I dropped a link to the second script to my desktop and ran it.  The script is very simple, possibly over-kill, but, I like to automate things so one click does the work for me.  I ran the script this morning as I had two new images (for this blog entry) and it synchronized my files in several seconds.  There is a lot more to the script that what you see, but, it is just setting up the color variables and getting the system time.  I don't need to use the time yet, but, it is part of my normal BASH skeleton script.

Screen shots

BASH script to sync to Google Drive using GRIVE

What the BASH script presents to me when run

Full BASH script to run GRIVE

#! /bin/sh
# ANSI Colors
#
#  Version:
#    - Version 1.0.0 2016/05/15
#    - Copyright 2016 Thomas Traynor.
#    - Program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
#    - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt       
#    - Release Notes:
#
#
#  Notes:
#
# ------------------------------------------------------------


zSetANSI() {

# Foreground colors:
    uFGBK="\033[30m";   #Black
    uFGLRD="\033[31m";  #Low  Red
    uFGHRD="\033[91m";  #High Red
    uFGLGR="\033[32m";  #Low  Green
    uFGHGR="\033[92m";  #High Green
    uFGLYW="\033[33m";  #Low  Yellow
    uFGHYW="\033[93m";  #High Yellow
    uFGLBU="\033[34m";  #Low  Blue
    uFGHBU="\033[94m";  #High Blue
    uFGLMG="\033[35m";  #Low  Magenta
    uFGHMG="\033[95m";  #High Magenta
    uFGLCY="\033[36m";  #Low  Cyan
    uFGHCY="\033[96m";  #High Cyan
    uFGHGY="\033[37m";  #High Gray
    uFGLGY="\033[90m";  #Low  Gray
    uFGWT="\033[97m";   #White

# Background colors:  
    uBGBK="\033[40m";   #Black
    uBGLRD="\033[41m";  #Low  Red
    uBGHRD="\033[101m"; #High Red
    uBGLGR="\033[42m";  #Low  Green
    uBGHGR="\033[102m"; #High Green
    uBGLYW="\033[43m";  #Low  Yellow
    uBGHYW="\033[103m"; #High Yellow
    uBGLBU="\033[44m";  #Low  Blue
    uBGHBU="\033[104m"; #High Blue
    uBGLMG="\033[45m";  #Low  Magenta
    uBGHMG="\033[105m"; #High Magenta
    uBGLCY="\033[46m";  #Low  Cyan
    uBGHCY="\033[106m"; #High Cyan
    uBGLGY="\033[47m";  #Low  Gray
    uBGHGY="\033[107m"; #High Gray

# Underline:
    uFGULINE="\033[4m";
  
# Blink:
    uFGBLINK="\033[5m";
  
# Reset all:  
    uFGRESET="\033[0m"
}


#
#  Get the system clock and set to a variable.
#

zGetDATE() {

# System date.  For all date options type date --h on command line.

    uSYSYY=$(date +%Y);
    uSYSMM=$(date +%m);
    uSYSDY=$(date +%d);
    uSYSDT=$uSYSYY$uSYSMM$uSYSDY;
  
    uSYSHH=$(date +%H);
    uSYSMIN=$(date +%M);
    uSYSSEC=$(date +%S);
    uSYSTM=$uSYSHH$uSYSMIN$uSYSSEC;
  
    uSYSJDT=$(date +%j);
    uSYSWK=$(date +%W);
    uSYSDOW=$(date +%w);
    uSYSDAY=$(date +%A)  
    uSYSMTH=$(date +%B)
}

# ============================================================
# END OF ALL SUBROUTINES FOR THIS SCRIPT.
# ============================================================

zSetANSI;
zGetDATE;

# Define the working variable for return codes:
uRC=0;

# Get current directory name
uDir=$( cd "$( dirname "$0" )" && pwd);

#"

# Get process ID
uProcID=$$


#  Now echo out the stuff to the console:

clear;
echo ;
echo -e "${uFGHRD}Syncronize with Google Drive${uFGRESET}";
echo ;

cd ~/GoogleDrive

echo -e "${uFGLGR}This could take a while syncronizing the files."
echo -e "If you want to continue press ${uBGLGR}${uFGBLINK}${uFGBK}[ENTER]${uFGRESET}"
echo -e "${uFGLGR}otherwise ${uBGLGR}${uFGBLINK}${uFGBK}[CTRL-C]${uFGRESET}${uFGLGR}."
echo -e "${UFGRESET}"
read uLINE
grive

echo ;
echo -e "${uFGHRD}Syncronize Finished${uFGRESET}";
echo -e "${uFGLGR}press ${uBGLGR}${uFGBLINK}${uFGBK}[ENTER]${uFGRESET}${uFGLGR} to finish update"
read uLINE

Why do I use ad blockers?

In this blog I will try to explain why I am using ad blocking software.  To quickly summarize use ad blocking software for four simple reasons.

1. I have a bandwidth limit and when I exceed it I pay for every byte sent/received.
2. A number of devices I use are older and slower and most ads will bring them to a complete stop.
3. Ads have now been used to target us with malware.
4. Cookies and other tools are being used to peel back what little privacy we have on-line to track us everywhere and try to target us with 'relevant' ads based on where we go.

For a number of years I have been using ad block software.  Publishers for years also have been complaining that we are stealing.  Frankly that is BULLSHIT, publishers you have been hogging my bandwidth that I pay for when you spew ads at me and try to track every move I make on-line.  I monitored a few sites and 80% of what is sent to me are scripts and images for ads and tracking companies!  That is just the scripts, I wasn't even counting the images and flash pages they were sending.  Since I am the one paying for the bandwidth I want to make sure I get what I pay for.  For the good sites with ads that are tasteful, unobtrusive and doesn't suck up every spare CPU cycle I white-list and allow the ads.  The rest I give them a try now and then and if I find them to be resource hogs I black-list again.

Some will say it isn't that bad, well in my not so humble opinion it is.  I have a number of devices and for all of them I must use ad blocking software or when I go to a site in the browser a number of my devices will stop for minutes at a time while it is trying to render that page and serve ads.  The three devices where I must use ad blocking or they are almost unusable are:

1.  Huawei cell phone.  I use this now and then when i am out shopping.  While resting I may surf Twitter, Facebook and email if the mall has free WI-FI.  Now and then something may catch my eye on-line and I click the link to see more about it. Without ad blockers the browser will take minutes to render a page (looking at you CNN, ABC, CTV and CBC).  At times I just close the window due the scripts running if I don't use ad blockers.
2. Google Nexus 7 tablet.  This is now retired, but, I used it in a similar manner to my cell phone when traveling.  At home it was my main tool for using Twitter, Facebook, blogging and email.  Like the phone I am forced to use ad blockers or even that machine will slow down to a near stop.
3. Acer Aspire Net-book.  This is a more robust machine, albeit a low end laptop.  I upgraded the system to 2 gigs of memory, but, everything else is stock.  Before I moved to Linux I was running Windows 7 then Windows 10.  Like the two  devices before I do run ad blockers.  It isn't as bad as those devices, but, it would take up to a minute for some sites to render a page and I watched the CPU usage hit 100% (I like using GKRELLM to see what my system is doing).  I also modified my HOSTS file to kill a lot of ads and trackers.  

I have two more devices that are more modern and higher powered and even there I use ad blockers as even they have problems at times rendering pages with ads.

1. Samsung Galaxy Tab A.  An android device and works quite well.  Samsung's site is also up-front on their use of cookies!  The browser has an ad blocker.  I can't modify the HOST file as I have not rooted the device.
2. Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series.  A high end laptop with Windows 10.  Even here I have to use a HOST file and ad blockers as some sites are so bloated they take up to 30 seconds to render.

Now I can hear web sites saying we need the ad revenue to stay in business.  Some have even gone as far as to run scripts to scan for ad blockers and then block their site until we turn off our blockers.  For those companies who actively block me when I run ad blockers I just go elsewhere and a good site gets my 'business' and you get absolutely $0.00 in ads from my visit.

1. When you use third party ad companies to present ads on your behalf you are trusting them to ensure their sites show us legit ads.  Well check out the links here and here for malware issues.  Why should I open up my machine to malware served by YOU?  You can claim that it is the ad company, but, you picked them, you trusted them, you are taking their money for presenting those ads and in my not so humble opinion the buck stops at your desk!
2. Your advertising partners are doing their best to track everything I read and where I go in order to 'serve' me more 'relevant' ads.  Relevant in whose opinion?  When I read an article on diabetes does not mean I want to get flooded with targeted ads on blood meters and related items.
3. I do unblock the good sites.  I understand their need to make money and the ads they serve are good and don't hog my bandwidth or system.  They also respect my privacy and try their best not to track my behavior.

The latest beef I have about ad blockers is that some of them are now white-listing sites and taking the choice out of my hands for what sites can present me ads.  Well that cost them a loyal user as I dropped them from EVERY browser in EVERY device in my house.  When it comes to ads and sites I am the final arbiter and no one else!

For users I have a few things for you to think about.

1. If you are technically inclined check out using a HOST file.  You can then pick the more annoying sites to block. 
2. Virus scanner software.  There are a lot of good ones and many are fairly inexpensive.  Personally I use AVAST as it is cross platform (Windows, Mac and Android), inexpensive, doesn't hog system resources and it just works.  
3. An up-to-date Browser.  This is important and the latest versions have bug fixes to minimize exploits.
4. Ad blocking software that allows you to white-list sites.  You can then tailor your blocking and allow sites that respects you to be able to serve ads and allow them to stay in business.  For me I like UBlock origin and Flashblock.  They work in Windows, Android and Linux for my Firefox browser.

An example white-list from UBlock origin (hmmm, seems like there is only one site there, probably because I don't want to advertise who I white-list).

White-list options, Slashdot is one of the GOOD sites I allow ads.  I hid the others.

Main machine upgraded to windows 10

After a few months of waiting and waiting for the bugs to show up & get fixed I finally upgraded my Dell laptop from Win8.1 to Win10.  Since Windows 8.0 is not being supported the writing is on the wall for Windows 8.1.  I figure this is a good time as the 'free' upgrade is still available and the initial bugs should have had a chance to get fixed.

Before I did the upgrade I did a full backup of every file I had on the laptop just-in-case.  The upgrade itself took about an hour and it looks good so far.  The upgrade preserved my settings, but, there are still a few tweaks to go for privacy.

One of the first things I did was to make Cortana an icon on my desktop bar at the bottom, I just don't want it hogging valuable real estate.  The second was to make Firefox the default browser as I never use IE (now Edge).  My anti-virus (Avast) still runs without issue and no glitches so far.

Over the next few days I will be stress testing the upgrade by playing my favorite on-line game (Old school Runescape), my office suite (LibreOffice), email (Thunderbird) and graphics (GIMP & Irfanview), scanner (older model Epson) and lastly my printers (wired laser & wi-fi inkjet).

Update 2016/02/13

True color doesn't work properly.  It is Windows 8.1 only.  First step is to turn autostart off, then true color off.  If you don't do it that way it can't be turned off at start-up.

Father-in-law computer. Next project isn't going to be easy

I was asked to back up all of the files my father-in-law has accumulated over the decades and put them on to USB memory sticks.  Think it is real easy right?  Not really.  Here is what I will be working with:

• Pentium class computer, old slow processor (well under 1 Ghz).
• Windows 95.
• No USB ports.
• No network card.
• Almost 100 3.5" floppy drives.
• A good number of ZIP disk drives.  He has a parallel port model.
• About 100 CDs and DVDs.

The last item was real easy, I popped that into my new laptop DVD drive, oh crap, it doesn't have a DVD.  Not a problem there as I am lucky to have an external CD/DVD drive that works in Windows 8.1.  I found a good number of CDs that I didn't create and quickly backed them up to a new folder on the machine.

The rest of it will take a bit of slogging.  He has not used the machine in over a year so I am really hoping it will boot up.  My father-in-law tended to store his documents, spreadsheets and pictures on external drives as he didn't want to fill up the hard drive.  Here is the order of what I will be doing:

• Copy all documents that are on the hard drive to a CD.
• Copy all docunments that are on the ZIP disks to a CD.  If the machine doesn't boot I am going to have to attach the ZIP drive to one of my older Linux laptops and pray.
• Buy an External USB 3.5" drive (Canada Computers has them, YAY!) 
• Check out a newer USB DVD drive as the current one is the size of several bricks and just as heavy (and slow).
• Read every floppy on my new Laptop using the external USB drive and backup to the new directory.
• Copy all documents from the CDs and then start making copies of the files for my sister-in-law.

After all of that is done I will also make a backup copy to my 1 TB external drive as multiple backups is a good idea.  Keep in mind that what technology you are using today may be obsolete in a few years and if your files are important then migrating them to a new medium is something you will need to do. Another thing to remember, if you buy a new laptop without a DVD drive you may want to invest in an external USB version.


Update 2015/07/02:

Finished the job.  Canada Computers did have that floppy drive and it worked very well.  I didn't have to install any software as Windows detected the drive.  It took almost two days, but, 81 folders, 3,722 files and a total size of 1.2 Gigs all the data was transferred.  This also includes my converting various graphic files to JPG format. All of the files were backed up to a USB flash drive.

The ZIP disks were transferred, but, the machine he had failed to boot.  It looks like the hard drive failed there.  That wasn't a major problem as I had an old Windows 98 machine with a parallel port and the ZIP drive ran from there.  The only 'fun' was installing the driver as the install floppy had errors. I will have to pull apart the machine and see if I can use the USB adapter for IDE drives and see if there is anything there I can salvage.

Sister-in-law is happy as a lot of images and documents created over the decades have been saved and available to all of the family.


Next mini-project 

Now to start scanning the various photo albums that we picked up.  I know a number of them I did scan many years ago and I will have to see what pictures I didn't scan and digitize them.  I reorganized my office layout so that the scanner is just a short reach away and I moved the printer to where the scanner was.  This isn't a major change, but, having the scanner a few inches away rather than several feet will make this an easier project.  The old layout worked as I didn't scan very often.

Some tools for securing & cleaning your Windows machine

This is not a fancy or pretty article, but, functional.  The following are various tools I use to help secure and clean computers.  This is a list of links I keep on my Google Tablet for when I visit and I can quickly download and install software.  The Windows Defender offline I install on to two USB sticks (32 bit and 64 bit versions).  The rest of the utilities I download and then copy to a USB stick just in case the person does not have a working internet connection.

Autoruns for windows
Technet.Microsoft.com/en-ca/sysinternals

AVAST:

www.avast.com

CCLEANER:
www.piriform.com

Chrome (note this installs only and no download):
www.google.com/Chrome

chrome://extensions
chrome://plugins

Firefox:
www.mozilla.org

To reset all and lose everything:
about:support and click Reset Firefox

safe mode: firefox.exe -safe-mode

Malwarebytes:
www.malwarebytes.org

SlimWare Utilities:

www.slimwareutilities.com

SPYBOT Search and Destroy:
www.safer-networking.org/private

SUPERAntiSpyware:
superantispyware.com

Window defender offline
Windows.Microsoft.com/en-CA/what-is-windows-defender-offline